Ohmystinkinheck

I have noticed myself becoming a stronger proponent of the one-room schoolhouse method of education. Not necessarily because I adhere to the idea that grouping children of all ages together helps the younger kids and matures the older (although I’m sure that is a valid argument and all). Not even because I once longed to be Laura Ingalls Wilder, scratching away answers on my mini slate board and plotting to pull Nellie’s curly pig tales.

Nah, my opinions and desires aren’t nearly as noble.

I’m just tired of two government institution school drop off and pickup lines/day.

Thankfully there are books, but now that I’ve read through the last of Jamie and Claire’s adventures in Breath of Snow on Ashes (the 6th book in the Outlander series), I’m ruined to all books forever. I want those two characters back, so I’ve purchased the Encyclopedia sized Outlandish Companion to perhaps learn a little Gaelic and get a bit behind the scenes of each of the 6 books. That ought to last 30 days or so - can someone please tell Diana to stop signing books long enough to write another one. What in the stinkin’ heck is the woman thinking?

DIANA! You’re a WRITER - get ON with it!

As you can see, Emelie has totally sold out to the written word as well.

Ahhh, a mother and daughter who can read together can also bear the car rider line together when picking up #2 and #3 of the Sanders’ hooligans.

38 Responses to “50 percent of my day is spent doing this…”

1. Loralee

   People have been telling her that for YEARS.

   However, she does have a writing forum where she publishes snippets of her new books all the time and a fan group called Ladies of Lallybroch (Not that I would have ever joined either of them…or anything…Ehem…)

2. Amber

   I love those books, too! I can’t wait for the 7th one to get here!

3. Mrs. Wilson

   Oh man. No fun!

   Can I ask what a pickup line is? (You know besides Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?) Do all the parents line up and take turns picking up their kids? Or do you just park on the street and wait for your kids?

   Yes, I am just a blonde Canadian.

4. OMSH

   Mrs. Wilson - At our schools you are either a bus rider, get picked up by a daycare bus, walker or a car rider.

   If you are a car rider, your parents pick you up at the door to the school. This means I sit in a car line waiting to pick up my kids as they release one child at a time out the door of the school to crawl into the parent’s car.

   School is over at 3:20, but they start releasing about 3:30. If I get their late, I’m at the end of a long line and the kids don’t get picked up until about 3:45, which is 25 minutes after they get out of class, so I usually am waiting a bit in line so their wait is shorter. :)

5. jen

   Thank God it’s not just me who is sick of drive line. My son’s school had its big gala auction on Saturday. A “move to the front of the line” drive line pass (good for one year!) went for $1300…more than a Hawaii trip. I guess a LOT of people are sick of drive line. ;)

6. karen

   I’ve just spent six minutes gazing intently at the screen, trying to read your book. This is especially silly since I am reading my own copies again, owing to the 328 mentions in your blog the last few weeks, thankyouverymuch. Did you have to post pictures? Really, an addict can only stand so much temptation!

7. OMSH

   jen - YOU ARE KIDDING ME? Well, if I had it…

   karen - I never know whether to throttle you or hug you for this new love affair. Right now that I’m out of books I think throttle is closest.

   IT IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO YOUR FAULT!

   Hmph!

8. Suebob

   Is it too far to walk or ride bikes? Perhaps public transportation? Or carpool with other kids? Then you could get your life back.

9. Meg

   $1300 to move to the front of the free line? That takes what, 15-20 mins out of your life? When you are in the car listening to the radio, with no kids asking for something or fighting? Pay me $1300 and I”ll wait in the line to pick up your kids daily!

10. Nancy

    Love those books too. :) Why not let the kids ride the school bus? I did it for pretty much every day of my school career - in high school, it was an hour each way, but great time to catch up on reading or a nap.

11. Michelle

    I imagine this is why no matter where we moved, my mom was always adamant that we lived near the schools. You know, so I could walk home.

12. bethany actually

    I was thinking to myself, I’ve gotta get those books and give them a try. But after reading your reply to karen, I am wondering if I would be better off avoiding them at all costs. Hmm…

13. bethany actually

    Also, Meg, if you consider that most schools have about 180 days, and if you spend 15 minutes waiting every day to pick up your kids, that’s 41 hours and fifteen minutes of waiting. So that averages out to about $32 an hour. So if you consider your time worth more than $32 an hour, AND that the money goes to a good cause, I bet a lot of parents would be willing to pay that amount for the option of saving time.

    Uh, yes, I am something of a geek…why do you ask?

14. Mr. OMSH

    Bethany, ‘geek’ doesn’t quite capture your presentation here….I think “BEAN COUNTER” would be more appropriate. You should consider yourself a ‘geek’ when it comes to computer/technology things; and ‘bean counter’ 90% of the other times!

15. karen

    @OMSH: Come to NJ and throttle away! Bring fresh eggs. By the time you get here, my family will be thoroughly neglected and in need of a good omelet.

    @Bethany: Go ahead and get the first book. One can’t hurt, right? :)

16. mamalang

    That’s why I love that she goes to the most awesome youth center after school…it’s only 2 blocks away and they walk them or bus them there with very little fuss. And seriously, if the child rolls her eyes and throws that “oh mama, why” sigh at me when I get there to pick her up again (which will be tomorrow), I really might throttle her.

    But quiet time where it’s okay for me to sit and read? That might be priceless.

17. OMSH

    bethany - BEWARE OF KAREN, she’s a Outlander PIMP! One can’t hurt - RIGHT! SURE!

    Mr. OMSH - I couldn’t have said it better myself. She’s a really cute bean counter though - and creative too.

    To answer a few questions:

    Why not the bus? Because we are in a school we aren’t zoned for right now. Our kids started out in that school and they let us stay. So, the busy doesn’t come ’round here.

    Why not walk? Because the school is 5 miles away and there is a highway between us and the school.

    Why not ride a bike? Well, because one is in Pre-K and one is in 2nd Grade and put that with the above answer and you’ll understand.

    Why not just enjoy the quiet? Because usually I’m thinking of all the things I should be getting done at home OR wondering why the truck in front of me is destroying my lungs with its exhaust, OR EVEN why I forgot my book, why the radio stations stink, why oh WHY haven’t I thought about what we could eat for dinner.

18. Kerry

    I can so relate to your Laura Ingalls Wilder memory. I wanted to be her too ;-)

19. kerflop

    I think that sounds lovely, actually - some time to just read in the quiet. But I’m sure I’d be complaining shortly if I had to do it a long while :)

20. MammaLoves

    This is the second time I’ve seen the Outlander books referenced today.

    Must go investigate.

21. Mr. OMSH

    I think there is a difference in spending time by choice versus being compelled.

22. mommyknows

    I am going to get the books.

    I know ‘you’ live far from the school etc. but I wonder if ‘all’ the parents in the line do.

    I know we have a similar problem outside of our school, but there are people driving who live literally 1 block away . They are scared to let their children walk alone and too lazy to walk to pick them up.

    If all the kids who were close walked the drivers would have it easier. The children walking wouldn’t be the ‘lone’ child on his/her own but one of many and less likely to come to harm with many eyes watching.

    I too wanted to be Laura Ingalls (or Trixie Beldon).

    Mommyknows xo

23. *Out of my Mind*

    Um. Ok. I just read the blurb for those books at Amazon. You evil woman. I want to buy them. But at the moment I have several books by an Australian author that I have to read….HAVE TO.

    I will not be tempted by these tales of time travel. I will NOT!!!

24. *Out of my Mind*

    I just had a random thought….seeing as you need some new reading material. I have a recommendation for you. I mentioned an Aussie author above…you might just like her stuff.

    Her name is Kim Wilkins. Her stuff is available on Amazon.
    The first book of hers that I read was called:
    The Ressurectionists
    and then I read
    Angel of Ruin.

    Both of which are brilliant stand alone stories. And after that she has a trilogy, which are three seperate stories but interconnected which I own but am yet to read.

    But the first two, I couldn’t put them down. I would stay up late into the next morning to read just *one* more chapter. One? Yeah right!

25. christina

    I read all those books last winter. (06-07) I almost had a stroke when I finished the last one. I was that attached to a darn book!! Sitting down reading them back to back is a little bit stalkerish.. but I like to do that. They were so meaty and thick..it kept me entertained for about two weeks. (yes I read them all in two weeks, that’s why I don’t buy books anymore. I eat them to quickly.)

26. OMSH

    It really does help that so many people understand “Gabaldon Addiction.” heh heh

    I’m going to try Out of My Mind’s Aussie writer. Off to Amazon as we speak.

    mommyknows - THANK YOU! And? AMEN!

27. OMSH

    Okay, “Out of My Mind” - I just hopped over to Amazon and realized those are HORROR books. As much as I’d like a good book, I want one that keeps me up READING and not up TERRIFIED; and yes, there’s a difference *wink*

28. Aileen

    I wanted to be Laura Ingalls too!! In fact, growing up, whenever I was being sassy, my mother would sigh deeply and tell me “why can’t you be more like Laura and Mary Ingalls?”

    I wouldn’t have been a Wilder though. My crush was on the mute circus boy that Mr. Edwards had to learn sign language to communicate with. I couldn’t say the name “Manly” without giggling…

29. *Out of my Mind*

    Oops. I never realised that they were classes as Horror. Eek! I am glad they didn’t keep me up at night then.

    Oh well. I guess the bonus here is that you won’t be wanting to throttle me from afar for getting you hooked on another set of books. ;-)

30. bethany actually

    Mr. OMSH, “bean counter” has negative connotations to me. I’m not sure why…denoting small-minded focus on the details and inability to see the big picture, maybe? But the term “nerd” was used at my high school by the kids in honors classes to describe themselves. So I am comfortable with that. Can we agree “nerd” would be a more appropriate term than “geek” for my mathy self?

31. karen

    In my school, the smart kids were either geeks or nerds. Geeks tended to be much more socially adept and had hobbies like music and theatre or maybe a weird sport like swimming or badminton. Nerds stuck to chess club and math team and were relatively unsocial. I’d stick with geek, if I were picking!

32. Meg

    Radio stations suck? You sound like a candidate for satellite radio. XM is the BOMB.

33. OMSH

    Meg - We are SERIOUSLY considering XM. Emelie wants it for the Elvis…heh heh.

34. janet

    omg, every time a new one comes out, i have to go back and reread the entire series so i can be “in the moment” with jamie and claire!

    and omsh? pleeeeeeeeeeeease don’t bend your pages down like that. it hurts me.

35. Mr. OMSH

    Bethany. Your response is further justification for the label of “Bean Counter.” Before you explore the term, ‘nerd,’ consider your answers to these questions: How many shirts do you own that make it possible to wear your favored pencil case? Do you own a pair of BCG’s?

36. Croila

    Ooooh! There’s a new Diana Gabaldon book out? I’ll have to see if I can buy it here in Scotland!

    One thing I’ve noticed about those books is that DG’s Gaelic is getting progressively better. I speak a good deal of it myself and I was absolutely cringing in the first book, there were so many howling errors. It’s looking up though! ;-)

37. Jules

    I remember when I saw Diana Gabaldon speak a few years ago she said it usually takes her a year or more to write one of the Outlander books. Apparently with the amount of research she does it is a long, slow process. But always well worth it when she’s done. There are excerpts from Book 7 on her website.

38. bethany actually

    Mr. OMSH - *sigh* Okay, I don’t own a single shirt that I could wear a pocket protector in. For that matter, I don’t own a pocket protector and am constantly losing my pens. And I don’t even wear glasses, so no BCGs. I still don’t think I’m a bean counter though. I don’t even like beans!